It was the day before Thanksgiving in 2015 and Stedman Bailey sat inside his rented Chevy Tahoe with two young cousins and their father while waiting for a friend.
As he scrolled through his phone looking at his social media, he noticed a car approaching. Within moments, his life would change forever.
“I just started hearing shots ring out — we were in the middle of it, bullets everywhere,” the former NFL player, 30, recalls. “There were more than 30 bullets sprayed all over the car. My two little cousins' father, he laid on top of the kids and was struck 11 times.”
Stedman Bailey.David Richard/AP/Shutterstock
Somehow, his cousins' father survived, and so did he. Bailey was struck twice in the head, which shattered his skull over his eyebrow and ended his career as a wide receiver for the St. Louis Rams.
On Jan. 19,Bailey sat down with three other professional athletes— Devereaux Peters, a now-retired WNBA forward; Diontae Spencer, wide receiver for the NFL’s Denver Broncos; andDeAndre' Bembry, shooting guard for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors — for an intimate conversation about their personal experiences with gun violence and how it affected them.
The virtual roundtable event, in partnership with PEOPLE and the nonprofit advocacy organizationEverytown for Gun Safety, brought the athletes together ahead of National Gun Violence Survivors Week, which runs today through Friday. The athletes are all members of theEverytown Athletic Council, whose members highlight the gun violence crisis, often with very personal stories.
For more on how a group of athletes survived gun violence and now work to combat it,subscribe nowto PEOPLE or pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands now.
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Nearly 40,000 Americans are killed with guns every year in America — and approximately 85,000 more are shot and wounded, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I’m a walking miracle and I don’t take that for granted at all. So, I want to continue to share my story and shed light on what happened to me,” says Bailey, who speaks publicly about his experience and encourages young people to make good life choices through hislifestyle brand +Energee.
Top row from left: Elaine Aradillas, Devereaux Peters, Diontae Spencer. Bottom row from left: Stedman Bailey, DeAndre Bembry.
After his life-changing moment, he knew he had a decision to make: either feel sorry for himself or celebrate the life he was given despite suffering from PTSD, depression and seizures.
“I look at myself in the mirror and I gain strength from it,” he says. “I have a few people that I grew up with over the years that lost their lives due to gun violence. They’re not here to share their story, or even have a voice. So I want to stand in the gap for the people who are voiceless now.”
source: people.com
